Drill Instructors
Drill Instructors, DI's, are responsible for shaping raw recruits into Marines. Marine Corps DI's are regarded to be the toughest and proudest drill instructors of all branches of the armed forces, as well as earning the reputation of holding one of the toughest jobs in the Corps. After all, the future of the Marine Corps is literally in their hands.
The job is a very stressful one and competitive one. It is the duty of every DI to take advantage of every opportunity for growth in the recruits and help shape them into fit, knowledgeable, skilled and diciplined Marines. New rules imposed to prevent recruits from being abused verbally or physically restrict the DI's choice of words considerably. According to Boot by Daniel Da Cruz, one DI was fined $200 for calling one recruit "a quitter and a weird one." In fact, DI's are not allowed to swear even in the presence of recruits, let alone at them.
Even more stressful are the 100-hour weeks that are average while training a platoon. Between platoons, only a few days of rest and recovery are given.
DI's are required to possess a diploma from DI School at either MCRD, Parris Island or MCRD, San Diego before they are allowed to instruct recruits. Designed to be a sort of boot camp for prospective DI's, it is one of the most demanding courses in the Corps.
Like drill instructors in other branches of the military, Marine Corps DI's wear the broad-brimmed "Campaign Cover" or "Smokey Bear" as a symbol of their status. Senior Drill Instructors in the Marine Corps wear black leather belts, while assistant DI's wear wide green webbed 'pistol' belts. Until 1996, female DI's did not wear the covetted "Campaign Cover". Instead, they wore a scarlet shoulder cord on their left shoulder.
The photo on the left is of a retired DI wearing his "Campaign Cover" with Dress Blues. This combination is certainly striking.
